Sleuth of the year – Review of Ebar Shabor

From essaying the role of Topshe on small screen to playing Shabor Dasgupta in the recently-released sleuth-flick, Saswata Chatterjee career graph is an enigmatic as well as admirable one. From being the heartthrob of the television as Akash in Ravi Ojha’s magnum opus Ek Akasher Neeche to being the nation’s favourite villain Bob Biswas (Kahaani, 2012), the growth of Saswata Chatterjee as an actor is worth a case-study.

True to his talent, Saswata wins hearts as a detective of Kolkata Police. Move over Feluda and Byomkesh, Bengal’s new “goenda” is here – Shabor Dasgupta. Ruthless yet humane, practical as well as emotional, sharp-brained with a sense of humour, this character penned by Shirshendu Mukherjee has been brought to life by Saswata Chatterjee’s magnificent acting and Arindam Sil’s credible direction.

A woman is found murdered in her apartment at Ballygunge Place and the case is assigned to Shabor. What enfolds is a tale of love, betrayal, revenge, jealousy and illicit affairs. Skeletons and dirty linen tumble out of the closet as the story progresses.

Every actor, even in miniscule roles, have put up worthy performances (the argument scene between Rahul and Debaleena was hilarious). The constant reference of Shabor’s sidekick to his Bengali medium school reminded me of Jatayu’s invocation of Ethenium Institution in Feluda series.

Moving over who dunnit, this film explores the human psyche – a ride which the audience is an integral part of right from the beginning. The story does not end with the discovery and arrest of the culprit; the film once again points out that we all are victims of circumstances. But as Shabor advices one character – “There are many options. Try earning the honest way.”

Full marks for the crisp editing and free-flowing screenplay. Bickram Ghosh’s score is refreshing, but out of place in some scenes. Arindam Sil had disappointed in his first directorial venture; Ebar Shabor makes up for the disaster that was Aborto.

Looking forward to more adventures of Shabor Dasgupta – the sleuth with a heart – in years to come.